New England readers take note, if you’re searching for hockey as the summer comes to a close the 3rd Annual Kevin J Major Hockey Tournament will be facing off August 4th, 8-11th at Amelia Park Ice, Westfield, MA. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge, but will feature both a silent auction and raffles with some fantastic memorabilia. In addition, t-shirts, pucks, decals and skate towels will all be available to purchase with proceeds going to the foundation.

The tournament which first began in August of 2011 serves as an on-ice competition in loving memory of Kevin J. Major a young hockey player taken too soon. Kevin passed away in 2011 of an apparent drowning while enjoying a summer afternoon with three of his friends. It was later determined that Kevin had sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The tournament serves as a forum for the friendships forged by Kevin both on and off the ice, while raising funds for the Kevin J. Major Youth Sports Foundation as well as Kev’s Foundation. The Kevin J Major Youth Sports Foundation has been established to provide financial aid, to motivate, educate and encourage children 19 years and younger to take part in structured youth sports programs. While Kev’s Foundation serves to help raise awareness of “Sudden Cardiac Arrest” through education, cardiovascular screenings for young persons and to provide state of the art Automatic Emergency Defibrillators (AED) in our communities. Donations from these screenings will go towards purchasing AEDs for our communities.

While the tournament began with 12 teams, this years support has grown the event to 26 participating teams all vying for the opportunity to win. The tournament features 4 divisions and a multi-day celebration filled with hockey, music, food, raffles and memories. A and B divisions, “Old Boys” and Squirts will all participate, the A division roster runs as a who’s who of Western Massachusetts Hockey. High School stars, College stars. Junior stars. and now Pro players NHL, AHL, ECHL on down the line. You never know what type of talent will walk through the rink doors…

Multiple days of tremendous hockey, all while supporting a great cause, what’s not to like? For a complete tournament schedule and roster list, head here. The Pink Puck will be supporting the event beginning this Sunday, August 4th. If you head to the tournament, wear pink and rock the rink, we love to see our readers supporting great events!

Winter was hooked on hockey by age 6, when she first witnessed a bench clearing brawl between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators. Growing from hockey fan to hockey player, Winter followed her passions by founding The Pink Puck. While she also loves fashion and the outdoors, hockey will always be her center ice. Email: winter@thepinkpuck.com Twitter: @Winter_Adams